Chevrolet Impala vs. Pontiac Catalina

Historians agree that 1963 was the last year fullsize cars had the muscle segment all to themselves. Everything changed in 1964, when the midsize GTO and the Mustang set the stage for the future of muscle and pony cars. These new cars were smaller, lighter, and faster but also had tons of youthful muscle car image.

2/19<strong>On the Avenue</strong>: In a street race or on the dragstrip, the 370-horse 421 Pontiac would most likely edge out a 340hp 409. In factory trim the Chevy would run the quarter-mile in the low 15-second range at 90 mph, while the Catalina would be in the high 14s at around 95 mph.

The two cars featured here, a Chevrolet Impala SS with a 340hp 409 and a Pontiac Catalina with Ventura trim powered by a 370hp 421, were GM's top street performance cars for 1963. There was a strong demand within the growing muscle car cadre for high-torque, hydraulic-lifter engines such as these. Fitted with these engines, these cars were docile enough to be driven daily but offered enough horsepower for the occasional street race or trip to the dragstrip. Both the 421 and the 409 were available in higher horsepower ratings that year, but with those engines the owner had to deal with mechanical lifters and higher compression ratios.

Chevrolet had always been GM's entry-level car and reflected its low cost heritage. The Super Sport option first appeared in the '61 model as both an image builder and performance package. By the '63 model the image components were firmly established but the performance options were up to the buyer. Chevrolet offered a long list of engine options to suit anyone's taste.

On the Pontiac side of the house, Bunkie Knudsen provided a booster shot to the Pontiac line with the release of the fuel-injected Bonneville for 1957. Under his supervision, Pontiacs won the Daytona 500 and NHRA Super Stock title. It was one of the most dramatic transformations in automotive history that pushed a low-selling "librarian's car" to the top of the sales ranks. Always seen as a step up from a Chevrolet in status, now Pontiac was equal to or ahead of Chevrolet in many performance categories.

Steve Kott owns the Marlin Aqua '63 421 Catalina featured here. He found it in 1986 in Akron, Ohio, through a Hemmings ad. It went through a lengthy and meticulous frame-off restoration. It's a multiple Pontiac Oakland Club International award winner: in 2002 it scored 393/400, in 2004 it scored 392/400, and in 2013 it was awarded a perfect 400/400.

The Palomar Red '63 409 Impala is owned by Rich Gabriel, who purchased it from the original owner 18 years ago. He did a full frame-on restoration in 2005 and has driven it a lot since that time. Both cars are based in the Detroit area, and we were lucky enough to shoot them together on the legendary Woodward Avenue, where most likely cars such as these would have dueled wheel-to-wheel in 1963.

11/19<strong>Front Styling</strong>: One of GM’s design edicts was to create cars that anyone could identify whether they were coming toward you or going away. Pontiac buyers of the day wanted a car that was more than a Chevrolet, and Pontiac delivered. Pontiac continued the split-grille design that would eventually be an iconic styling element. This was Pontiac’s first use of stacked quad headlights. The grille and headlight bezels are costly chrome-plated die castings, and the front bumper is one piece. Chevrolet installed low-cost anodized aluminum headlight bezels and a mesh grille. The bumper is a three-piece unit with an anodized license plate panel in the center. All of the grille surround trim is anodized aluminum.